Friday, July 27, 2012

Review: Borderlands (3/5)

I've not finished the game yet, but I figured I would review Borderlands since I just got in the steam summer sale and even more exciting for you: it is free to play this weekend! Also if you buy it before Monday it is 75% off so I recommend checking it out. The link I posted is to the game of the year edition which I didn't buy I only have the normal one, but for an extra $2.50 it might be worth it. FYI Borderlands 2 is coming soon and it looks awesome so might as well prepare.

The game is a first person shooter with RPG like elements to it. You pick one of 4 classes (Berserker, Soldier, Hunter, and Siren) and then you use guns, weapons, and one unique class skill to kill stuff and level up your character. As you level up you can use better weapons and gain skill points to use. The skills you get are all passive skills that improve other elements of your character.

Things I liked:

Very unique guns and items with very random and fun modifiers. Loot is usually exciting to find.

Enemies are quite varied and interesting. From bandits with shotguns to lobster looking things that burrow.

Gameplay is simple and very fun. Getting a critical hit and blowing some creature's head off with a sniper rifle is oh so satisfying.

Skills are fun and despite always being passives they feel like they matter, and effect your character a great amount.

The coop system is very good and very fun. It deals with all the common problems like splitting loot money for you, and as long as you use different types of weapons you never fight over loot or ammo.

Things I didn't like:

Although a few quests are unique and exciting, many quests aren't too fun and feel a bit tedious

The plot is okay but not really good enough to keep me excited to find out what's happening next

Long range traveling is done by car or fast travel but it still often feels tedious and slow running or driving around. Maps are a little too large I feel.

I could not get into this game playing solo. I tried last year on the Xbox but I didn't find it too fun. Playing again now with my buddy Tim it's very enjoyable and we've put quite a few hours in.

Overall: This is a very fun loot based game. For only $5 (this weekend only) it is hard to pass up even if you don't think you'd like it haha. The amount of content in this game is quite large and I honestly don't think I'll be sad I'm missing the DLC from the GOTY edition, so I'd pass on that. The biggest problem I feel is trying to play alone. I don't really recommend buying unless you can find a buddy to play with or you really like this game type. Whether you are alone or playing with a buddy though, if you are reading this review the weekend of 7/27/2012 you really ought to try it out for free and then decide if it is worth your money. If you miss this weekend and Borderlands is $20 again then well, it is a close call for me to recommend it but I'd still say go for it if you have a buddy to play with.

2 comments:

Yeah it's so much fun. I really felt the loot system in Diablo 3 should have been more like Borderlands. But as I mentioned in my review the loot was never really exciting, was a huge let down most of the time. Borderlands was great though I'd check it out.